Contract Lifecycle Management, or CLM, is a legal tech solution revolutionising the way organisations manage contracts. When you think you have everything under control, an important contract gets lost in a pile of paperwork, unleashing a chain of emergencies and complications. Can you afford to make mistakes and waste time and resources due to failures in manual contract management? This is where CLM comes in with a solution that transforms chaos into order. Read on to find out how CLM can not only save your next big deal but also radically improve the efficiency of your entire organisation.
Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) is a software that offers a comprehensive approach to contract management within an organisation, covering the entire lifecycle of a contract, from the request for a contract to its automated creation, negotiation, approval, compliance, electronic signature through to expiry or renewal. CLM software such as Bigle's provides a platform to manage the entire process, boosting efficiency and compliance in a company's legal operations.
This solution improves operational efficiency, reduces the risks associated with manual contract management, and optimises negotiations and compliance. By integrating a CLM into their operations, organisations can ensure greater contractual consistency, improve responsiveness to legal and regulatory changes, and gain valuable insights into performance and exposure to contractual risk.
As businesses recognise the intrinsic value of contracts, the adoption of technologies such as Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software is becoming an essential strategy. The benefits this software brings to the business range from digitising contract management to unlocking and driving the value that contracts bring to the business through technology.
One of the main benefits of CLM is the transparency it introduces within the organisation, through the management of legal operations. Contracts are spread across all areas of the business and, by centralising them, different departments gain clear, real-time visibility of contract terms, conditions and status, thereby aligning them more clearly with the company's strategic objectives.
In terms of security, CLM is critical in the age of digitalisation. It protects the sensitive information contained in corporate contracts and ensures that contracts are secure against unauthorised access, manipulation or loss. It also helps to ensure compliance with data protection regulations, an increasingly important aspect in today's global context.
Looking ahead, CLM positions companies to adapt quickly to market changes and emerging regulations while maintaining their competitiveness. CLM tools enable organizations to be more agile, react more quickly to business opportunities and effectively manage contractual risks, resulting in a substantial competitive advantage for both legal departments and companies in general.
At the heart of every successful operation is the efficiency and security of contract management. By implementing CLM software, organisations can dramatically improve their contract processes. Let's explore the benefits of using a CLM.
Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software addresses a number of critical challenges faced by organizations in contract management, providing solutions to common contract management issues. Let's take a look at five of the main problems it solves:
Many companies still store contracts in physical formats or in disorganized systems, making it difficult to quickly access important documents when they are needed most and increasing the chances of misplacing them and creating security breaches. CLM centralizes and digitizes all contracts, allowing quick and easy access, as well as improving the searchability and security of documents.
Manual contract handling is susceptible to errors, from simple data entry mistakes to critical omissions in terms and conditions to forgetting key events and dates. CLM automates many of these tasks, reducing the possibility of errors and ensuring greater accuracy in contract management.
Tracking the progress of multiple contracts through their lifecycle can be complex and prone to delays, even more so in large organizations. CLM provides a platform from which to automate manual processes, iron out inefficiencies and track the status of contracts, ensuring that deadlines are met and necessary actions are taken at each stage of the contract.
Coordination between multiple parties for contract review and approval can be time-consuming and complicated. CLM facilitates real-time collaboration, allowing stakeholders to review, edit and approve documents efficiently and virtually, speeding up the entire process and improving communication between teams.
The contract life cycle describes all the stages a contract goes through, from its inception to its conclusion, renewal or termination. The life cycle of a contract can be divided into two main stages, pre-signing and post-signing. Within these two stages, there are five main phases: request, contract creation, negotiation and approval, electronic signature, and fulfilment of obligations and renewals or terminations.
Each contract, within this pre-signing and post-signing phase, goes through the following five phases:
CLM software may vary slightly in its functionalities, but state-of-the-art software should include the following features:
In addition to the CLM's functionalities, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) a state-of-the-art Contract Lifecycle Management software must include new functionalities associated with generative AI to further boost the contract lifecycle. Bigle's CLM includes a generative AI assistant that includes the following functionalities:
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Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software is used by professionals involved in the management, monitoring and analysis of contracts in various areas of companies. This includes roles focused on the management of all types of legal documents, compliance, risk management, operational efficiency and strategic collaboration between departments.
Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software is essential for companies that handle a high volume of contracts and want to ensure and optimise efficiency and compliance in their operations. These tools are particularly valuable in large corporations and multinationals that operate in multiple jurisdictions and handle thousands of contracts simultaneously. However, it is not only large companies that benefit from CLM systems; medium-sized companies with complex legal operations also find these systems a crucial solution to manage their contracts effectively.
CLM systems are useful in all kinds of industries such as technology, telecommunications, consumer goods, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, construction, financial services and insurance, among many others.
Within a company, various roles can benefit from using a Contract Lifecycle Management platform, particularly roles related to the management of legal documents and contracts, either internally or externally to the company. Legal directors and in-house lawyers from legal departments, as well as managers and teams from Procurement, Sales, Human Resources, Finance or Marketing benefit from the automation and efficient contract management functionalities offered by CLM.
Contract Lifecycle Management or CLM software is emerging as one of the ideal legal tech tools for legal departments due to its ability to simplify and automate end-to-end contract management. In the legal department, where accuracy and speed are crucial but workloads are increasing, CLM helps to streamline and eliminate bottlenecks. A state-of-the-art CLM offers advanced tracking and alerting capabilities that ensure continuous compliance with contractual terms and current legal regulations. This optimises resources, strengthens the legal department's ability to respond proactively to any contingency, and improves risk management and operational efficiency.
The return on investment (ROI) of CLM software is a crucial indicator for organisations seeking to justify its adoption. Effective implementation of Contract Lifecycle Management results in significant savings through increased security and efficiency of legal operations that serve to eliminate revenue leakage from contract processes. The improvements brought about by CLM can translate into increased operational efficiency and reduced costs, justifying the initial investment in CLM technology and marking contract processes not only for the present but also for the future.
If you are interested in exploring how our CLM solution at Bigle can transform your legal department, we invite you to schedule a free and personalised demo with our legal operations specialists. Discover first-hand how our tool can adapt to your specific needs and contribute to the optimisation of your contractual processes. Schedule a demo and start your journey towards smarter and more secure contract management - we look forward to helping you take full control of your contracts!
Request a free demo with Bigle experts and discover our state-of-the-art CLM platform.